A short review about cloud computing

Question: Describeabout cloud computing. Answer: 1. Introduction Cloud management system is used to manage the cloud infrastructure. It is also called CIMI (Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface). CIMI started in the year 2010 and soon in the year 2014 it got internationally standardized. There are different models of cloud infrastructure management like IaaS (Infrastructure as a service), SaaS (Software as a service) and PaaS (Platform as a service). The specification would provide the protocol for interacting with the cloud service provider and the consumer. The primary resources of the IaaS are a machine, network and storage and they are managed in such a manner that the customer specification and requirement are fulfilled (Li et al., 2012). There should be provision for upgrading their infrastructure accruing to the client/customer need. 2. Remote Administration and Management The company using cloud computing can use the server according to their needs using the capabilities of the computer. It can automatically stop access to its server and storage without using any human resource (Masud Huang, 2012). The files and documents can be obtained using a wide variety of devices from any global location.(e.g. mobile, tablet, laptop, desktop and workstations). The data stored in cloud storage can be accessed by multiple users irrespective of the location Cloud computing provides elasticity to its users such as a further expansion of storage space is possible on demand. Cloud system optimizes the resource automatically and controls the bandwidth, storage, and process for each user account. 3. Backup and Disaster Recovery It is the term that the computer storage manufacturing companies use and the storage service providers use it to describe that the data stored in their database is available at any moment such as during disaster the data is accessible to the user. When the data is kept in a distributed system they are interlinked with a high-speed connection such as optical fibre connection is used. Data redundancy is to make the data availability greater i.e. the data is duplicated and stored in several backup storage devices into segments and accessed when needed. The storage devices are independent of each other and thus there is flexibility to add more storage options. Two simple methods are used for data availability; Storage Area Network or SAN and Network attached Storage or NAS. Itis the property of a product or system, to work with other products or systems, understanding interfaces completely without any restrictions to access it. The distributed computing system uses data synchronization between the different system in various clouds and the internal systems to synchronies them. The connection between the clouds is difficult so there may be latency for synchronization between the clouds. If a new system is added to the system, it is also synchronized and is interoperable. The interoperability uses much communication protocol and it should share a standard process of data and model. For different platforms, a protocol is used to discover its service and exchange information between them (Dinh et al., 2013). In general, the conceivable stockpiling are easy to locate for the global clients but it offers the administration of distributed computing. The administration of distributed computing is accomplished by the convention of HTTP. To increase the security for the information HTTPS and SSH are mostly used. These use the secure version by encrypting the data that is transferred using this protocol. HTTPS stands for Hypertext transfer protocol and it works in the transport layer of the OSI model. Earlier HTTPS was used in payment gateway sites, emails and for other sensitive websites but now it has widespread and utilized in all types of websites for protecting the authenticity of the page. SSH also called secure shell is an encrypted protocol that allows the user to operate remotely (Jain Paul, 2013). It has replaced its predecessor telnet with its improved encryption feature. The evolution of computers has helped business companies to automate their business process and have an advantage over the global market. Cloud computing in infrastructure management can have an enormous effect on a various range of industries. Cloud = Internet-based access to low cost computing and applications + Internet-based data access and exchange Characteristics of a cloud based infrastructure: Characteristics = Internet Accessibility + On-Demand Self-Service + Pooled Resources + Usage-Based Billing + Elastic Capacity (Opengroup.org, 2016). 4. SLA Assessment According to Ficco et al. (2012) the access to the resources of the different cloud based service providers is provided through a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Cloud based service providers maximise their Quality of Service by balancing their infrastructure and not violating the SLA. The assessment of various risk factors on cloud computing is the goal of this assignment. The method that is used in the framework is used by the consumers and service providers to identify the risk that is deployed during the operation. There are various models in risk management through which the risks can be identified and a solution can be implemented on that risk factor. The effect of the risk on the architecture or design is also executed by risk management. The assessment of the risk has an impact on the cloud computing toolkit. With a proactive system, IT managers can identify most of the problems that causes slowdowns and outages, eliminating much of the downtime associated with a reactive approach. When such thing occurs, the time to repair is shorter because of troubleshooting. Problems are resolved faster, with less effect on both users and ITs. Overall, IT is in a much better position to deliver on its SLAs while still driving innovation (Zheng et al., 2013). It is a contract between the service provider and the customer. The SLA is used to standardise the service provided by the service provider. As an example, an ISP (Internet Service Provider) and an organisation have a service level agreement between them. If the ISP fails to provide internet service to the organisation, the organisation complains the ISP and the mean time between failure, mean time to recovery and mean time to repair is calculated. If it is greater than the time mentioned in the agreement, the organisation may take legal action ag ainst the ISP to pay fine. 5. Benefits of Cloud-based Management Cloud computing can be used for managing the infrastructure of an organisation. It has several benefits for the organization (Jadeja Modi, 2012): 5.1. An increase of efficiency and reducing the Total Cost Ownership Virtualization can help the company to reach a high level of abstraction. The infrastructure cost can be reduced with the use of distributed computing; it removes the limitations and the acceleration is increased for the growth of the company. Virtualization is done in a model and has high level security. It can also be increased or decreased according to the needs this feature is called the scalability (Zissis Lekkas, 2012). The most important benefit of cloud based infrastructure management is lower infrastructure expense. There is no need of maintenance of the servers for the hardware and networking component and it can be upgraded at a nominal cost. 5.2. Increased quality of service As the efficiency is greater the quality of service that the cloud based management provides is also higher. The Iaas service provider provides infrastructure for backup of data during any disaster. The organisation have not to give focus to the servers and hiring staffs for managing the server and networks are not required they can concentrate on the growth of their profession. 5.3. Proactive management of the automated operation The primary goal of proactive management is to prevent problems from occurring at the top level. 5.4. Provision of adaptive security and delivering consistent compliance The virtual machines used in the distributed computing has the provision of adaptive security, only the emails and the payment gateway service can be secured using HTTPS and SSH and rest of the traffic can be accessed using HTTP (Younis et al., 2013). SLAs are of different forms like Customer Based, Service Based and Multilevel Based. The online storage system is cost effective regarding traditional storage systems. The installation cost of a local storage server is much more, and maintenance cost is also taken into account. To access the server remotely VPN (Virtual Private Network) is required (Border et al., 2015). More employees are needed to manage the server, and thus, cloud based is storage is the best solution to be used for business. The cost is one third of the expense of instaling a local storage server with much more features added to it (Wu et al., 2012). 6. Recommendation: 6.1. Google Drive: It is the best suited online storage system for ABC, Inc. Google drive is created by Google for file storage. It allows its user to store data remotely to a cloud based storage space provided by Google; it gives 30 GB of free storage to Google app users and unlimited free storage to students using it for education with the Association of 5 members. With the subscription of extra storage, the storage space can be expanded. If the account is not renewed at the time, a seven-day grace period is given and then the space storage returns to the default free storage. Other files can be accessed but no files can be uploaded to the server. There is an option for downgrading the plan . Also, the storage space can be shrunk if not used by the user. Google Drive also supports third party applications and that can be opened in the drive without instaling any third party software package or application. Google drive can be used offline, and it offers a 15GB of free storage much more than its compe titors. Google has announced to increase its security for its users. Thus, it is the best choice for an organisation to use (Simmhan et al., 2013). 6.2. Checklist to be satisfied by Google Drive Account Governance and Billing Access Management and Security Asset Management Backup and Disaster Management Configuration and Change Management 7. Conclusion: A short review about cloud computing can be viewed from this article. Cloud computing is a new emerging technology that provides both the service provider and the consumer to outcome benefits. The user can have unlimited service with a small investment and infrastructure. Multiple cloud management services are used to provide the user all the service. This article has its primary focus on the utility of cloud technology on infrastructure management. From the study of infrastructure management is has been found that Iaas delivers infrastructure management and it creates a virtual environment that has the flexibility of increasing or decreasing according to the consumer needs. Cost effectiveness is also a factor of distributed cloud computing that empowers classes that are running in remote areas. The different providers pool the resources on a single reservoir, with ease of use. Cloud computing is growing rapidly since it is more user-friendly and users can have access to their files from anywhere in the world. Companies using cloud storage need to pay the amount for space they have used thus reducing their energy consumption up to 70% making their company green and eco-friendly. Cloud storage has several advantages the data stored in cloud servers are natural disaster proof and have a high level of security, and the storage can be expanded according to the needs. References: Border, J., Dillon, D., Pardee, P. 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